Stop Wasting Hot Water in the Shower with the Road Runner Showerhead
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 01.15.08
Photo credit (right): joyner0101
Low-flow showerheads are one of the standard answers to the question, "How can I conserve water at home?" There's no real sacrifice involved; you can still clean yourself every day, you just use less water doing so. We've featured lots of the water-saving devices as part of our advice for saving water when you shower, but this one is worth a special mention.
See if this sounds familiar: you stumble in to the bathroom in the morning and turn on the shower. While waiting for it to warm up to "wake up temperature," you check yourself out in the mirror, pick at your teeth, rub the sleep out of your eyes, pat your head and rub your belly, or do whatever until you can verify that hopping in the shower won't be like joining the Polar Bear Club. Unless you've been standing there with your hand under the tap, waiting for it to get just right, chances are that a precious few drops (or a precious few gallons, depending on your showerhead and how long you've been preening) have escaped down the drain.
That phenomenon is a thing of the past with this smart head; when the water temperature reaches 95 degrees (plenty warm for getting started, at least), it automatically shuts off, letting you know that it's warmed up and ready; you can finish brushing your teeth or gazing at the scale at your leisure, since you aren't pouring water down your tub's drain anymore.
Roughly equitable to turning off the tap when brushing your teeth, this showerhead outputs 1.6 gallons per minute (GPM)-- not the smallest number we've ever seen, but significantly less than the 2.5 GPM that passes for "low-flow" these days. Combined with the handy shut-off feature, it is estimated that a family of 3 will save more that $230 on utility bills and more than 7,600 gallons of water per year; imagine what you could save if you found someone else to share your shower with or went with a Navy shower.
Need more convincing? Check out the video below, confirming that the showerhead indeed flips itself off at the prescribed moment. It's available for US $39.99 from ::Clean Air Gardening via tipster Lars
My problem isn't wasting the bit of hot water that may be running for the few seconds until I test and jump in--it's all the cold and slowing warming-up water that's already gone down the drain.
Are baths more water and energy efficient?
unless you bathe once a week and do not wash in the meantime, I think not... unless of course you shower for quite a while... (more than 7 minutes or so) all of this is an educated guess so dont blame me is I am wrong...
If you have a house and it takes a long time to get hot water in the bathroom there is a solution. I have one bathroom that is a long distance from the water heater and I installed a small pump device that solves the problem. What it does is pump water from the hot pipe into the cold pipe untill the hot side is 95 degrees or so. It simply circulates the water back to the water heater via the cold water piping. It has a timer on it so it doesn't have to do this all day but just before you get up or other common use times. The net effect is instant hot water with no running the tap/shower to
Here's the device I have but there are others http://www.filterdirect.com/AutocircACT.htm
The only bummer of this system is if you want a drink of cool water and the pump has just run the water in the "cold" pipe will be warm. My basement is wide open so I was almost thinking of installing a return water line that would go from that bathroom to close to the water heater inlet thus allowing the cold pipe to remain cold.
Looking at the details of this item, it looks like it isn't really designed to save water in general--rather, it conserves hot water, so what it's really doing is saving the energy needed to heat more water.
An even better approach would be for it to wait to release any water until the temperature is 95 degrees. That would save water (both hot and cold) and energy, without the consumer having to do anything. And imagine the convenience--you turn it on, then when the water starts, you get in. With the current design, you have to in effect turn it on twice.
As it is, maybe the best solution is to put a bucket under the shower head, to collect the non-hot water before the shower; the collected water could then be re-used for other things (watering plants, etc.). But that's just the type of workaround that this technology should make unnecessary.
There is a product called the Chili Pepper, which actually takes the cold water sitting in your hot pipes and pumps it back into either the cold supply or the water heater, and pumps the hot water to you. No wasted water. It is more expensive than this, but wastes no water. I have mine sitting at home to be installed!
A more efficient idea would be to make a water heater that first heats up for XX seconds - and then passes on the water after that,
What about some way to heat up the actual showerhead with a small heater so it warms up the water before it comes out. Would only need to get hot for a few sec. and could shut off when the water temp equals out.
Cold showers are good for you! While waiting for the water to get hot, I wash my feet and legs with the still cold hot water. Also at the end of my shower I finish with pure cold. Great wake up!
I looked at the Chili Pepper mentioned above. It is a way to recirculate the water in your pipes using a pump. The problem is that you will end up with hot water in your cold pipes (until it is flushed out). Hot water from a tank may be contaminated with bacteria.
Another solution would be to install a mini hot water booster tank in the bathroom. These plug into an ordinary outlet and only cost around $150. They heat up about 4 gallons of water, enough to last you until the hot water arrives.
Cold showers are good for you! While waiting for the water to get hot, I wash my feet and legs with the still cold hot water. Also at the end of my shower I finish with pure cold. Great wake up!
I looked at the Chili Pepper mentioned above. It is a way to recirculate the water in your pipes using a pump. The problem is that you will end up with hot water in your cold pipes (until it is flushed out). Hot water from a tank may be contaminated with bacteria.
Another solution would be to install a mini hot water booster tank in the bathroom. These plug into an ordinary outlet and only cost around $150. They heat up about 4 gallons of water, enough to last you until the hot water arrives.
Huh, it's a nice concept, and I'm sure it helps a lot of people, but I was expecting something a little different when I started reading the article. I was thinking maybe it had a small heating unit in it to instantly warm the water or something so very little/no water is wasted.
a tankless water heater with a "home run" manifold (PEX tubing) will help minimize water waste, assuming you locate the heater close to your shower (which is kind of obvious).
the water does not need to go through the lengthy "all purpose" housewide copper tubing from which the shower pipe would normally fork, but rather there is a direct line from heater only to shower, which should be fairly short.
water cannot leave a tankless until it is the right temperature...
If your getting hot water out of your cold water side after you hooked up the recirculate pump. The installer did it wrong. It is supose to be hooked up to the drain of the hot water heater and also a check valve should have be installed.
I have a patented valve that is in prototype testing that is installed in the toilet riser tube. It has a third port that is connected to a nearby lavatory or sink. When the toilet is flushed the tank is refilled with the cold water sitting in the hot water pipe. By the time the toilet tank is refilled hot water is usually at the bathroom. If the hot water arrives before the tank is refilled a thermal element in my valve strokes the hot inlet shut while opening the regular cold inlet and allows only cold water into the tank. Even with a 1.6 gpf toilet warm water will be pulled nearly 90 feet in a 3/4" copper line. That should cover most "regular" homes.
Hey Mike
Not sure on how well the last idea would work. connecting the hot supply to the toilet is a good idea to refill the toilet with cold water from the hot water line, but honestly for it to realistically work is for the person to shower right after they flush the toilet. otherwise by flushing the toilet and not showering you are wasting the movement of hot water down the pipe resulting in more energy used to heat the hot water tank. If people are that conservative with their water usage most would just go number 1 in the shower at the same time as showering or stick a bucket in the shower and collect the cold water until the trickle mode kicks in. that way you can use the cold water in the toilet or apply it to plants!!!! Concept is just okay, but not realistic.
Mike:
The whole idea is based on the premise that most people probably use the toilet first thing in the morning before they shower or after working in the yard or getting ready to bath in the evening. When they flush the warm water is on the way while they are preparing for the shower. It started out as a convience issue and then I began to see the water saving potential since you wouldn't have to let the cold water run down the drain. Any time you use hot water there will be water cooling down in the pipes afterward. Also many homes have a half bath that is used more during the day for potty breaks than the master or remote full bath where my valve would be installed. As far a weeing in th shower I'm going to have to tell your wife on you!
There are shower head water heaters that attach to the shower head and plug into 110. I have seen them on ebay, but have been unable to locate them at a b&m store. Articles state they are good for R.V.s, pool side showers and apartments. Cost appear to be around $80.00 US.
The Hot Water Lobster Instant Hot Water Valve will be a big home water conservation addition to your low flow showerhead! It will get hot water to your shower faster and save water! I installed this thermostatically adjustable recirculation valve under the sink farthest form my water heater and now I have instant hot water throughout my entire condo. It uses no electricity and is pump free, so it creates no noise. It's only $179.95, has a 10-year warranty, and is very easy to install. It only took me 10 minutes. I have had it for 3 years now and am very impressed. I highly recommend this system.
Check it out at:
www.hotwaterlobster.com